


A Web Of Lies

by PeacefulDawn



Category: Fruits Basket, Fruits Basket (Anime 2019), Fruits Basket - Takaya Natsuki (Manga)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-17 21:55:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29107416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeacefulDawn/pseuds/PeacefulDawn
Summary: Hajime Sohma Honda is basically Tohru’s step brother, or foster brother. Whatever. He becomes a part of Tohru and Kyoko’s family after certain events take place.Hajime is a Sohma who turns into a spider, but don’t ask why he’s a spider, because I couldn’t tell you. This is a rewrite of a story a started when I was 13.It contains spoilers.
Relationships: Honda Tohru/Sohma Kyou, Sohma Hatsuharu/Sohma Rin, Sohma Hiro/Sohma Kisa
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

Tohru had already gone on her way to school by the time Hajime had woken up. He wanted to say goodbye like he always did but slept in instead, thinking he had enough time for a couple more minutes of sleep before Tohru had to leave. He was regretting that now, and felt somewhat guilty. Not that he should've felt that way. Tohru definitely wasn't upset about it. If anything she was happy he was getting more sleep. Hajime tended to stay up late, and even though he only got a few hours a sleep during the night he was always sure to wish Tohru good luck at school and work every morning.

But Tohru was probably already long gone now. This was the time Hajime would usually go back to sleep, and stay asleep until it was noon. However, since he had just woken up he decided to go for a walk around the area. That seemed to be his favorite pass time.

On most days he stuck to one of two trails, but on others he'd climb through the trees, completely ignoring any existing path on the ground. This happened to be one of those days.

While moving from tree to tree he couldn't help but wonder if Tohru had gotten to school safely or if she'd ran into trouble on the way. When he began to panic he slowed his movements until they halted altogether.

"Don't think like that." He reassured himself while also realizing how out of breath he'd become. "She's fine. She's always fine. She's Tohru, and Tohru's always fine."

"Oh, hello there!" A man's voice greeted him cheerfully. He was surprised by the small figure perched on the tree branch, but he clearly wasn't angry or upset in the least at his unexpected arrival. "We sure are getting a lot of new faces around here today."

Hajime didn't respond right away. He was too busy staring him down and trying to figure out if talking to this strange man was okay, or if he should run back to the tent. Or check to see if he, by any chance, kidnapped Tohru and was hiding her in his house.

Because of course that's something that would happen.

Deciding to put his suspension of the stranger aside, he crawled down the tree and sat on his knees a good distance away from the robed man. He waved and said a quick "Hello" in the most confident voice he could muster.

"Forgive me if I'm wrong, but you seem familiar. Have we met before, by any chance? I'm Shigure Sohma." He introduced himself while sitting calmly on his porch, a newspaper held lazily in his hand.

Hajime tensed at the name "Sohma". It was all too familiar for his liking, and even though the name Shigure was only vaguely familiar, he didn't trust it. He didn't want anything more to do with it. And so he said "No." and stood. He crossed his arms over himself to form a sort of protective barrier between him and Shigure Sohma.

"Ah, that's a shame. I thought I'd know those glowing eyes anywhere." He looked disappointed as he gestured to the younger's tired blue eyes. "In any case, though, it's a pleasure to meet you . . .?"

He waited, and waited. Almost a full minute passed before Hajime had realized he was asking for HIS name.

"Huh? Uh- Yuri Honda." He lied. Though it was true he didn't trust Shigure, the false introduction wasn't actually on purpose. He figured if he introduced himself as a Honda he'd been fine, and since he was part the Honda family, it wouldn't have been a lie. But instead Hajime changed his name completely. It wouldn't have been the first time, though. He must've had quite a number of names to keep track of by now.

"Honda? Like Tohru Honda?" Shigure questioned, an eyebrow raised. The paper he'd been reading now forgotten behind his sitting form as he gestured a hand to some small animal statues. "That girl came by this morning to look at these zodiac figurines. You know her?"

Question after question. Hajime surely thought he'd panic and run away if this kept up. But still he remained, trying to keep his cool.

"She's my. . ." He thought about it. What was she at this point? It was something he'd never bothered to think of. He didn't like to think of his relations to others. It always seemed to lead to him wondering why they were what they were, and why they couldn't be something better. Something closer- and not only with Tohru and Kyoko. With anyone who was a part of his life. But he learned to push those thoughts away. Now Tohru was simply Tohru. Kyoko was Kyoko.

"She's just Tohru." He stayed, blue eyes noticeably more dull. Looking up again he realized how weird he must've sounded and gave a different answer instead. "I mean she's my. . . We're friends?"

Shigure gave an odd look the Hajime couldn't quite read, though it was a typical feeling. The man then smiled and rose up from his seated position.

"Is that so? She said you two live nearby . . ." He stated what she'd said as if he were asking his newest visitor to confirm it for him. Hajime didn't like that Tohru's word wasn't more than enough for someone, but he hid that very well with his same dull and tired expression.

"Yeah. We live . . . Right." He pointed left, not knowing if it was his desire to keep their location private or his own stupidity that lead him to do that. Either way, he mentally scolded himself for it, as well as not leaving this conversation sooner. "I have to go now."

Shigure watched silently and curiously as Hajime, now known to him as Yuri, quickly ran into the woods. He supposed he'd investigate later. After all he'd only ever seen one other young boy with stringy black hair and blue eyes he could swear actually glowed. And if he remembered correctly, that child would currently be around the age of "Yuri Honda".

  
  


The day had gone by slowly. Hajime didn't have much to do. He didn't attend school and he didn't work either. In the past he'd thought about getting a job at the hospital Tohru currently worked at, but the thought of accidentally bumping into someone scared him too much. He wasn't sure how the Sohma's managed to attend school even with their curses. He assumed they were simply out of their minds. Surely homeschooling was an option for them. So why not take it?

The air began to cool as the sun went down. Hajime spent most of his time reading books and talking to Kyoko before he unknowingly drifted to sleep while waiting for Tohru. He hadn't seen her all day so she was dearly missed.

The raven haired boy couldn't keep his thoughts positive the entire time. The possibility of something happening to Tohru was all too real. She could easily get hurt just like Kyoko did.

Those kinds of thoughts are what drove Hajime to go looking for her in the dark. He crawled through the woods as long as he could. Until he reached the city. Crawling was just much easier, and came more naturally to him than walking on his feet. His did get scratches, though. There were lots of rocks and twigs on the path he took to meet up with her. He didn't even feel it though. His mind was too focused on Tohru.

"Why do I always get so worried about her?-" he tripped over his own feet.

"Hajime?" A tired voice questioned calmly before brown eyes widened in surprise. Then she called out. "Hajime!"

Blue eyes looked up from the comfortable newly found bed on the pavement. "Tohru. I was coming to meet you." He informed her, not bothering to rise to his feet.

Tohru knew him long enough to know he wasn't badly hurt, and to know he was crawling now, just because he wanted to.

"How was work?"

"Work was fine. There was a lot of cleaning to do today . . ." She sighed.

"You look tired. I'll carry this for you." Hajime offered, worried. "You look kind of pale . . ."

"I'm okay!" The girl smiled, but didn't stop him from talking her bag. "I think I'll just wash up by the river before I do my homework."

"Okay. You go, then. I'll take your stuff to the tent." He offered a kind smile witch she returned with every ounce of kindness.

"That's very kind of you. Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. I can meet you there if you want."

"Ah, okay. Thank you very much." They continued to walk together until the tent was in sight. Hajime went inside with Tohru's school bag while she headed towards the river.

Things were going ordinarily until Hajime sensed someone approaching. He figured it was too soon for it to be Tohru, so he stepped out to see who it was, and was surprised to see two people standing above him. One of witch began to laugh as if he'd just witnessed the funniest thing on the planet.

"Stop. It isn't that funny." A silver haired teen scolded the man from this morning.

"Oh great. More Sohmas . . ." Hajime mumbled. Unsure of what to do or say without Tohru by his side. He was supposed to be going to meet her by the river. Hopefully she wouldn't begin to worry about his absence.

"Sorry about him. Would you . . . Like to come inside and talk for a minute?" The silver haired one offered, extending a hand.

Inspecting it carefully, Hajime worried about leaving without telling Tohru. As much as Hajime worried about her, she worried for him, and he knew it.

"Only for a minute.”

Hajime sat quietly and politely at the table after explaining his and Tohru's living situation. He began to get uncomfortable, and not just from being in the home of two strangers. His sitting position was starting to hurt his legs, and he couldn't himself from squirming a bit. 

"That makes sense. . ." The silver haired one, now know to Hajime as Yuki Sohma, said after taking a slow sip of his tea."This is all Sohma property, so it was weird to think we'd suddenly have neighbors."

"Sohma property." Hajime mumbled as a feeling of static began taking over his legs. He spoke up "Sorry. We. . . Didn't know."

Shigure began going on about dangers in the area, witch Hajime was taking a bit longer to process, since he hadn't even realized the man had stopped laughing enough for there to be no trace of it in his voice.

"Could we just. . . Stay a little longer? Only one or two more weeks and then we'll be gone." He looked down, black strands of hair falling over his eyes and framing his face. He wanted out of this location now. He figured he wanted it as much as they did. ". . . I swear. . . We'll go. We won't be any trouble."

Shigure leaned back and smiled. "No, I don't doubt that. You've been no trouble the entire time the two of you have been here, so I'd have no problem with you two staying there, but. . ." Yuki glanced at him from the side. "It's just your safety I'm a little concerned with."

" _Two Sohmas. . . This isn't fair. The dog AND the rat? Next thing I know God himself is gonna show up."_

Hajime became lost in thought. He never expected to come face to face with members of the zodiac. Not ever again. He thought he'd escaped from their cage, and he supposed he did for a while. But here he was now. Caught in what seemed like a trap set up just for him by a God who never even wanted him.

"I need to go now." Hajime stood quickly, and stumbled back down. Feeling coming back to his legs much too slowly.

"But- " Yuki started. Interrupted by a howl.

The three of them paused before Shigure sighed and shook his head. "See? There was just a landslide."

Hajime would've asked how he knew that, but he really didn't need to. Though. . . Maybe he should've. He could tell his willingness to simply go along with Shigure somehow understand a random howl was causing a bit of suspicion in the man.

"Was it close?" He asked instead.

"Close to the tent-" Shigure started before stopping himself. Not soon enough to prevent the youngest of the three from panicking and running outside, toward the unstable area.

"Tohru. . . She wasn't inside was she?" He asked himself while running on all fours.

"HAJIME!! ARE YOU IN THERE?!"

He made it in time to catch Tohru looking on the verge of tears while trying to dig through the rubble.

"Hajime?!"

"Tohru!" He got her attention and jumped over to her. Just as relieved as she must've been. "Tohru! You're okay!-"

He was about to hug her, but stopped himself just in time. He simply leaned over her, one hand on a rock and the other on her shoulder. Their hearts raced in their chests as tears of joy streamed from Tohru's brown eyes.

"Sorry, I- . . . I wanted to meet up with you but- ah, never mind that."

"Hey, are you guys okay?" Yuki asked once he and Shigure managed to catch up to them. Was he actually worried about them? Hajime didn't know and at the moment, really couldn't care.

"Yeah." She finally sighed and relaxed a bit. Her head still resting on Hajime's shoulder as she gripped the fabric of his sweater. Still making sure to not actually hug him. "We're okay. But. . ."

Hajime watched Tohru's eyes slowly widen and wondered what was wrong. Was she just shocked to see them again?

"Mom!" She yelled and continued to claw at the dirt. "She's still in there! She's trapped! MOM!!"

"Tohru, what. . .?" Hajime started to ask, confused about who she was talking about, before it hit him.

_"I actually forgot about her?"_

Shigure walked over and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder in an attempt at comforting the poor girl.

_"I'm the worst. . . How could I forget about her?"_

"Huh?" He was brought out of his thoughts when he felt a hand on his forehead and the mention of his name. Looking up from his lap he saw Shigure with a concerned expression. His hand seemed so cold against his skin.

"Besides, the two of you could really use some rest."

Yuki chimed in "Why don't you come back with us?"

  
  


" _Go where with who?"_


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The placement of certain events will get moved around sometimes, but overall it will follow the Fruits Basket story.

Shigure has gotten out two futons for Hajime and Tohru to borrow for the night. The girl had seemed so worn out, both emotionally and physically, from the events just moments before. She was already in bed while Hajime just sat up starring at the shadows trees on the paper doors. It was somewhat calming being in this house with Tohru near by. Maybe because there was sure to be little to no talk of the Sohma family's situation with an outsider around.

Hajime wasn't even completely sure Shigure knew of his relation to the Sohmas, and knew Yuki definitely had no idea, but if Shigure had found his appearance familiar then he knew there was a risk.

He tried to block it out. He tried blocking out Tohru telling the story of what happened to her mother that one morning. He had lived through it and didn't want to think of it. In all honesty he avoided thinking about what actually happened. He would talk to her as if she was simply on a trip, or even still near by.

The moonlight flowed in through a small crack in the door, lighting up the room just enough to make out the vague expressions on everyone's faces - minus Tohru's, witch was half-covered by the blanket she held lightly.

She then spoke of school, and her motivation to graduate like her mother had wished for her to. To Hajime it seemed like an offhanded comment while they were grocery shopping. Not to say Hajime thought Kyoko didn't want Tohru to graduate, or didn't care, any good parent cared. Hajime just knew that if for any reason it didn't happen, Kyoko wouldn't be that upset about the not graduating itself, at least not as much as she would be about how disappointed Tohru would be in herself. But that's just how he saw it. To tohru it was clearly more. Maybe Hajime just didn't understand.

While the other two continued listening to Tohru, Hajime snuck away. It was late and he was tired, but he needed some fresh air. He also wanted to change his clothes, but that'd have to wait. All of their belonging were still buried.

"And Kyoko, too." Hajime reminded himself, wanting to be quick about separating her picture from the other non-living items in the tent. "She isn't a belonging. She's a person."

_"Even if she is just a picture- don't think like that!"_

Without actually intending to go anywhere, Hajime found himself moving towards the tent. He paused on his way, confused about how he had even gotten there. Then he jumped on a large rock and sat there, thinking of ways to move it and the others. Surely they couldn't just forget about their stuff. Their clothes, Tohru's school things, books. Basically everything. How they ever managed to carry everything they owned in so few bags and fit them all into such a small space was beyond Hajime.

"Well. . ."

_"I guess . . . Start by moving the little ones. Or the dirt. There's dirt. . ." He let out a puff of air and sunk down. ". . . Nevermind. This looks hard."_

"And besides, I have zero physical strength."

"Honda?" Yuki emerged from the shadows and into the light of the moon. A group of rats stayed close to him, and Hajime wondered how Yuki was just. . . Okay with that. "I didn't realize you had come out here."

After thinking about how filthy the rats must be, he came to the conclusion that Yuki was okay with it because he was also a rat. Being a spider didn't mean Hajime liked being surrounded by spiders, but whatever. Who was he to assume Yuki enjoyed it?

"Yeah, neither did I."

"Uh. . . What?" His head tilted to the side and his hair fell over his face. Silver eyes showing obvious confusion. "Well anyway, would you like some help? It'd go a lot faster with all of us working together."

_"All of us? Does he mean the rats too? Of course he means the damn rats."_

" . . . Okay. . ." He stood again and and looked around the area, and then back to Yuki.

_"But where do we even start?"_

Hajime gave Yuki an expectant look, waiting for his response, but it never came. Was he being ignored? Already? Expectance turned to confusion, witch turned to worry. Did he mess up already?

He thought back and then face palmed. "Oh. . . I'm stupid." Yuki was about to deny the claim for him, but he wasn't given the chance. "Sorry. Let's just try to do this already."

"Okay."

The next morning Shigure had asked Hajime to speak with him outside. Though he was hesitant, he agreed. Yuki was still out by the tent, but he had sent Hajime back to get at least a couple hours of rest before sunrise. He couldn't though. He was up all night, lost in thought.

During their discussion Hajime found himself forgetting to be on high alert in the household. He forgot to keep himself from seeing the two Sohmas as potential friends. He forgot to act polite as well, but Shigure didn't seem to mind when Hajime began crawling around the place instead of walking upright.

In the orange light of the morning sun, this place felt warm and safe. It felt like a home- though, it was a home. Just not Hajime's or Tohru's home.

"So, what do you think? If you need somewhere to stay, we'd be happy to help!" Shigure asked with a cheerful look in his eyes and a goofy smile. "Do you think you two'd be able to call this place your home for a while?"

"Uh. . ."

"I NEED TO DIG MOM OUT!!"

Their focus was turned towards the door, where down the hall Tohru's voice could be heard, as well as a door sliding open. Then Yuki's much calmer voice joined hers.

"Looks like she's up!" Shigure exclaimed.

Hajime was about to crawl away towards Tohru, but suddenly remembered to stand. The feeling of static suddenly shot through them again and he almost fell over, but leaned on the wall instead. The other noticed and spoke up immediately.

"You didn't happen to hurt your leg while you were out last night, did you?"

"- No, they. . . I'm fine."

That simple question reminded him of his secret. It was a secret they shared, but still he wanted to be sure Shigure and Yuki didn't know that for sure. It also reminded him to act more. . . Normal, in their presence. That unfortunately meant walking like a normal person.

"You can never be too careful, and we do have a family doctor-"

"I know." He accidentally informed, raising his voice slightly before pushing himself off the wall. "I- I mean I don't need to see a doctor. My legs are fine."

"Well if you're sure." He himself then stood and offered an arm to the boy who was clearly still struggling to stay on his own feet. Hajime reluctantly accepted, not wanting to be rude. "I swear I've seen you before. . ."

_"This is going to kill me!"_

While walking out they heard Yuki and Tohru talking about just what they were talking about not long before. 

_"At least Tohru can answer without being awkward."_

"Looks like Yuki had the same idea! How fun!" Shigure let Hajime sit down at the table before waving to and moving past Tohru, going over to Yuki, probably do discuss living arrangements or something of that sort.

"Oh, Haji- " she began but was quickly cut off by Hajime who was waving his arms around and whispering for her to be quiet. It didn't seem any of the others noticed.

"Yuri! It's Yuri now!" She told her in a hushed tone, blushing slightly do to his embarrassment of giving Tohru yet another name to memorize,

"Oh- okay." She nodded, unbothered. "How did you sleep? Sohma said you helped him dig all our stuff out last night."

"Oh, yeah. I slept fine." He lied.

The brown haired girl sighed. "That's good. Anyways, Yuki said we could stay here! Only if you want to though!"

He hummed and rested his chin in his palm. "Do you want to?"

"I was kinda hoping you'd just make the choice."

"Oh, well, I said I'd just ask you- "

"Well it isn't like you two have many other opinions." Shigure stated from outside. Yuki came in and collected the few bags from Tohru's side with a smile.

"I'll just take these to your rooms."

Shigure then asked the two about something having to do with what sounded like chores to Hajime, he was a little spaced out though. Having noticed the two doors were just slightly uneven. He wanted to fix it but honestly wasn't sure how that'd seem to just go up and straighten out someone else's door. Or even how he'd do that.

"How do you fix a door?"

"Huh?" Tohru looked confused, and who could really blame her? It came out of nowhere.

"Nevermind."

"Well, shall we head upstairs then? Yuki's probably up there by now."

"- Right!" Tohru stood quickly. "And thank you very much!"

_"Wait. . . I've gotta stand up now, don't I?"_

Once the two were both on their feet, Tohru was about to let Hajime lean on her, but then remembered and back away, worried that if he were to lose his balance and fall, he'd fall on her and transform.

Though personally, Tohru would almost prefer that to him falling on the hard floor. And he almost did just that. Lucky that Shigure was there.

_"Really. Why do I even have legs at this point?"_

"It's really no trouble."

Going up the stairs was difficult. Shigure had to practically carry Hajime up the steps. He was relieved when they made it up the last one. This only reminded him to work out his legs a little, or a lot more in the near future.

"I'll go get a vacuum." Shigure decided as Yuki stood near the window. Tohru went to join him and they enjoyed the fresh air pouring into the stuffy room.

Hajime sunk down and relaxed. Going through his options just as he did when Tohru first gave him the news she'd be staying in a tent. She spoke like it was just going to be a fun camping trip and that she'd be fine, but he could tell she was a bit worried. That's the main reason he stayed with her instead of taking his friend's offer to stay at her place. But Tohru was no doubt safe in the Sohma's care. As long as the head never got informed of her there would be no need to worry.

Hajime became upset with himself for entertaining the idea of leaving Tohru for a second time. He couldn't do that, even now.

_"And besides, there's still the whole curse thing. Can't have her parents finding out about it."_

"Look Yuri! A bird!" Tohru pointed out the window.

". . . Eh?"

Then out of nowhere, something fell through the ceiling with a loud crash. Hajime and Tohru both froze out of pure shock, but on Yuki's face was the look of pure annoyance.

"Yo." Cooly greeted an orange haired boy the same age as Tohru and Yuki. He seemed unharmed by the fall through the roof. It made Hajime wonder if he did it on purpose. But who would do that?

"You ready for a beating, rat boy?!"

_"Oh no. Another one?"_

One thing lead to another and the oranges haired boy leaped towards Yuki, ready to strike.

"Wait! Don't fight!" Instead of his fist making an impact with it's target, he was instead met with Tohru, who had jumped between the two and accidentally hugged him.

"Agh!"

"Stupid cat."

A puff of orange smoke appeared and when it disappeared an orange cat was left in the boy's place.

"Well this sucks for them."

Shigure then appeared to check on everyone and to confirm or deny his suspicions, but before he could speak he had a cat shoved into his face.

"Help! I landed on him wrong and turned him into a cat somehow!" She yelled.

"Oh. . . Yep. That's him." He stated simply.

"Stupid, stupid cat." Yuki continued, leaving the room. Probably to get away from all the chaos.

"We have to call a doctor or something!-" she tripped over Hajime, who was still sitting on the ground, and made contact with the other two.

"Sorry Tohru. . ." He offered his apology, helping her up.

"W- we gotta get help." She said, head spinning.

"No. We really don't." He made eye contact with her. "Remember . . .?" He gestured to himself.

"Oh yeah! Right! I forgot!"

"You always do. Not that I'm upset about it or anything. It helps sometimes."

More smoke cleared and Hajime realized that the orange cat was nowhere to be seen.

"Maybe he got scared or something...”

He held onto the railing as he made his way down the stairs on his own. He was sure he'd fall, but he didn't. He noticed a figure standing just outside and went to take a look.

"Got some mail for Shigure Sohma!" He stated. "Sign here please."

_"Ah, okay. How do I do this. . ."_

He reached out for the stamp but someone else got it first. He watched blankly as Shigure signed the paper in dog form.

". . . Ah. . ." His gaze didn't move from Shigure even after the man left, and Tohru made her way over with Yuki following behind.

"Damn it!" Said the cat from under the table. "We could've made up an excuse if you guys didn't transform too!"

"BARK!"

"Seriously? You're a dog. You can do better." Hajime critiqued out loud, not even realizing.

"Yes, well," Shigure was slightly embarrassed. He was only trying to get the other two's attention. He hadn't expected either of them to say he was bad at barking. "I guess I don't get much practice."

The little grey rat, Yuki, crawled over to them and the cat did the same, with quite the angry look on his cute little cat face.

"We might as well tell them everything. Though I'm not sure they need it explained." He mumbled the last part while exchanging a quick look towards Yuri Honda.

  
POOF!

”Oops. . . Guess I should’ve warned you though. . .”

Tohru ran into the wall when they all changed back, screaming a little. Hajime turned around and covered half of his face with his left hand, just enough to shield his eyes until they finished getting dressed.

Hajime sighed. He was sure he'd been found out now.

  
Though they didn't actually need the explanation, Tohru and Hajime both listened quietly as Shigure explained their family's curse. Hajime did his best to avoid eye contact the entire time. He looked anywhere else, from the weirdly uneven doors to the small chips and scratches on the wooden table. Looking back on it, Hajime thought that may have made him all the more suspicious.

"Well, now you know!" Shigure concluded. "This whole thing must've come as a shock to you two. You must think we're pretty strange."

"Oh no! Not at all!" Tohru smiled up at him and then looked as if she had just realized something. Shigure turned his attention towards the orange haired one, Kyo Sohma.

Something about that one seemed familiar to Hajime. He could've sworn he'd met a kid with orange hair when he was younger, at a dojo he really had no internet in, but was still left at from time to time when he was younger.

It made sense, he decided. If his parents were going to leave him somewhere it made sense that it be a place the zodiac members often were. But this made him think about another thing. Did Kyo recognize him? Did he remember their few encounters at all? Did Hajime even want him to?

As soon as he focused his attention back on the current time, he heard a loud sound. Not frighteningly loud but loud enough. Then he looked over his shoulder and saw that the doors had been broken.

_"Man. . . I really gotta pay attention."_

Then he felt something on his cheek. It felt soft, like cotton. Then he noticed the feeling of something slowly dripping down his face. And a stinging sensation.

". . . Eh?"

"I guess I should apologize about Kyo though. He does have quite a temper!" Nothing about his tone seemed apologetic, but it didn't matter. Tohru would never get mad and Hajime was too confused to know if even should be mad. "It seems I'll have to get the door fixed. . ." At that, he did sound somewhat mournful.

"Ha- Yuri, are you okay?" Asked Tohru with concern.

"Uh. . . Uh huh. Now we match."

_"Wait the table broke? When did that happen?"_

In all honesty he wasn't sure why he was so slow lately. And tired. He felt so very tired. Though eventually he picked up bits and pieces of what had gone on and figured out how they'd gone from talking about the curse to him and Tohru having been hit in the head with a broken table, and Kyo sulking in a pond.

"You should know, we will have to tell the family head about this." Shigure informed the two.

"Okay. I understand." Tohru replied with her same smile.Then once things had calmed down, got up to get changed for school.Hajime soon followed after. He stood on his own but as soon as he began to walk his body leaned forward to fall. In order to prevent that he moved his legs faster, practically running after her now.

_"Agh, No! Not that. That person. . ."_

His blue eyes were wide and fearful of what events could follow. Then once again he became upset with himself.

_"Stupid, why are you more concerned about yourself? What about Tohru? She could get her memories erased, and she doesn't even know. Maybe I should've mentioned it."_

Crawling his way over the final step, he made his way to the door of Tohru's room. Shigure had mentioned them having a second spare room that Hajime could barrow, but he hadn't had the chance to point out witch one, and Hajime really didn't wanna guess. So he just sat outside Tohru's room so that she could change.

_"But still. . . I don't wanna have to get involved with that person again."_


	3. Chapter Three

"Aren't you going to school as well? You don't have to stay and clean up." Shigure stood by the door of the kitchen, watching Hajime trip over scattered objects in what that man somehow called his kitchen.

Hajime didn't look at him, just continued placing things into piles, hoping that that would keep them out of the way while he sorted through the fridge and cupboards. "No. I don't go to school."

”Really?" Shigure did up his tie with a curious expression. "And why's that?"

"I mean. . . I'm homeschooled." It wasn't a complete lie. When Kyoko was alive she would teach Hajime on her days off and in her spare time before dinner. But ever since then there was no one. Though public schooling worked for the others, it seemed too risky for Hajime. Like they were asking to get found out.

Shigure hummed and brushed his hair back with his hand. He kept watching Hajime clean, and made no move to help. Kyo had gone to the back to find supplies for something. Probably to fix he roof he came crashing through an hour earlier.

"Need me to grab anything while I'm out?" The man, maybe in his mid twenties, asked calmly. Hajime looked over, confused. No response. "Well then I'm off! And Kyo, don't go running off again!" 

  
Hajime relaxed. He had the place to himself now. Mostly, anyway. He figured Kyo would stay away from him all day, probably until the day he died. Hajime hoped for that.

"How did they let the place get this messy? I made three piles and still can't see the floor!" Sitting down on a random chair, he tilted his head back and closed his eyes. Then looked around again. "Maybe I could just throw everything away. They clearly haven't needed a lot of this stuff."

As he picked up papers, used napkins, and other things that should've been tossed out a long time ago, he was relieved. That's what most of the stuff seemed to be when he really looked at it. That and empty boxes that at one point held snacks and things of that sort. Most of the food was old, and Hajime hoped they hadn't still been eating it. The thought caused him to laugh. There was no way they could have done that. They clearly hadn't been in there for weeks at least.

Two hours went by and Shigure returned. Hajime could hear him sigh from the other room, then call after Kyo. Not long after, the man in question stopped down the stairs with an undoubtedly angry expression.

"Can you come with me to do something? It won't take long at all!"

"What is it? Better not be something stupid."

"No, no!" Shigure waved. "And as long as you aren't stupid you should do just fine!" He added. Shigure had him there, Hajime knew. There's no way Kyo, or anyone else would refuse to do whatever it was Shigure wanted after that. "Yuri, I'll be taking Kyo now. So you'll be alone until we get back. I'm not sure how long it'll take. . ."

"That's fine."

"Then we're off!" He joined Kyo by the door, who was angrily putting on his shoes. "Feel free to take a break while we're out. Don't overwork yourself."

It was difficult to ignore that Shigure had just gone to see Akito. He was there for so long, who knew what type of things Akito said? Well, Shigure, for one. But Hajime could never ask him. He had to trust that if it was anything too important, Shigure would be telling him in that very moment. But he wasn't. Instead he was taking Kyo somewhere.

"I guess I could take a break. I could go on a walk. Maybe go see. . . “

_”Usagi.”_

  
It'd been a month since he last went to see Usagi, a girl his age whom he became friends with years ago. They got along well from the very beginning, and even had sleepovers at Kyoko and Tohru's apartment. On a day when Hajime was stuck in bed with a fever, she had come over to keep him company while the others were out. They read books and talked for hours. But, she was a very clumsy girl. Always spilling drinks and falling down stairs. On that day She tripped over her own two feet and landed directly on top of Hajime while he was out cold. He woke up with his blanket over his entire body while Usagi watched some mindless tv.

Eventually to two had a talk and exchange for his secret, Usagi told her own. It was simple and not at all dark. Something about her having a crush on a celebrity she frequently claimed to hate, but it was appreciated. They promised to keep each other's secrets. So, Hajime could tell her more, right? She kept the secret that long, so she was definitely someone to talk to if he was feeling anxious or stressed about something.

"Might as well. I've gotta talk to someone about this."  
  


__________

The city seemed quiet that day. Well, about as quiet as a city can get. There weren't many cars on the streets, and the playgrounds were empty. There was a soft breeze that caused the branches of trees to gently sway. Hajime found himself stopping to admire the beauty of a nice cloudless sky, and the warmth of the sun shining down on him. He hadn't bothered walking most of the way. He only attempted to stand on the rare occasion he passed by someone on his route. It's the kind of day he, Tohru, and Kyoko would pack up a few things and go on long walks. Then when they got tired they'd stop and take a break, and to enjoy a nice picnic by the river. Those days would forever be missed.

Upon reaching his destination, Hajime slumped over a bench just outside the gate. It was further than he thought it'd be from Shigure's place. It wasn't as if it took him hours to get there, but it was different from the old five minutes of walking I used to be, when they lived nearby.

"Oh, Hajime. It's been a while since we've seen you around here."

He looked up through the black strands of hair that fell over his eyes, and smiled lazily at the familiar face. He waved and lifted himself up from his laying position.

"Mr. Nakamura, hi."

"Usagi's actually not here right now, but Itsuki's in his room if you wanna see him." The friendly man offered his hand witch was accepted without much thought. "I know you two aren't close, but some human interaction would do him some good."

"He still stays in his room most of the time?" Hajime pushes some of his hair back and followed Nakamura inside.

Despite everything that's changed recently, this place was still the same. Still warm, and still bright. Even the curtains opened just as wide as last time. The placement of the bowl of fruit in the kitchen, the station on the tv, it was all the same. It made Hajime wonder if time had passed at all since the last time he was there.

"Yeah, he's even doing his schooling online now. We couldn't keep fighting with him to go to his old school forever. It became too much for us - me and Aiko. It was causing them both too much stress." He put his keys on the counter and dropped down onto the blue leather couch. "And we still don't even know exactly why he started hating it so much. You know him by now, if he doesn't want to say something, then there's nothing anyone can do."

Hajime took an apple and looked in the direction of Itsuki's bedroom. "Well while I'm here, I'll just go see him."

"Alright. Thank you. Bring him something to eat while your at it."

_"That was the plan."_

“Okay.”

"Hey Itsuki?" Hajime tapped on his door, sitting in the narrow hallway. "Can I come in?"

The door open quickly and Hajime tipped over, having been sat with his back against it. Itsuki looked more or less the same. Same spiky brown hair, same dull green eyes, and same dumb smile. But he did look more tired.

"Oops." Itsuki laughed and walked back inside, leaving the door open for his younger sister's friend. He then reclaimed his seat at his desk in front of his computer. The blue light from the screen being the only source of light in the room aside from the light from the hall, witch Hajime shut out before crawling over to lay on the window seat. "What are you doing here? Usagi's still in school."

"Yeah. I forgot about that." He crossed his arms and stretched out his legs. "So I figured I'd come bother you instead."

Another airy laugh escaped Itsuki as he faced his screen. Half focused on his work and half focused on the time. When the clock read "2:00 PM" a few seconds later, he shut his computer andopened up the blinds on the other side of the room.

"You probably haven't been doing anything school related, huh?" He asked, a flicker of jealousy in his eyes. "You should just sign up for the program I'm in. I'm pretty sure my parents would be willing to pay for it if you said you'd do all your school stuff here. They'd probably like the sound of me being around people more. People who aren't family."

"Okay, I'll pretend that doesn't hurt at all." Hajime joked, brows slightly furrowed.

"Oh, shut up." Itsuki mocked his expression and sat down oh his bed, getting out a box he had been keeping for the past few days. "We all know you don't have feelings."

"Pfft. Stupid."

"Here. Usagi got this for you a month ago as some kind of present. But you got scared and never gave it to you." He handed him the box.

"Okay. And here." Hajime handed him the apple he grabbed earlier. "Your dad wanted to give this to you, but he got scared and asked me to." Nothing about his tone was serious.

"Hmm." Itsuki hummed, he knew it was another joke, but it got him curious about the subject. "I wonder if anyone has ever actually been scared of me."

"Definitely." Hajime assured, taking the lid off the box and pulled out a blue knitted scarf.

The color matches his eyes perfectly, and he could only assume that Usagi knitted it herself, since last he knew, that was a hobby of hers. It made him happy to think that she'd take the time to make him something like that.

_"Why would she be scared to give this to me? It's great!"_

"Nice." The brunette commented on the scarf, then took a small bite of the apple. "And why? I'm not scary."

"You're terrifying. I mean just look at you."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Itsuki waved dismissively and tossed the apple up and catching it with the same hand. "You're pretty creepy too, crawling around everywhere like some damn spider person."

Hajime laughed and wrapped himself up in the soft material. "Really though. . . I just thought you didn't like me. So whenever I saw you I got a little freaked out. Didn't wanna bother you."

"Well. . . Back then I guess I did kinda give off that vibe. Thought you and Usagi had a thing for each other." He took another bite.

"Awe, so you're a protective big brother? That's cute."

His brown eyes closed and he leaned back, head sinking between two fluffy pillows. "Hah. No, not really."

A couple more minutes passed and Hajime left the Nakamura family's home and started on his way back to Shigure's house.

The Nakamura's were still as generous as ever. Aiko - Mrs. Nakamura - literally forced Hajime to take bags of food with him. They had more than enough and could always afford more, but still Hajime didn't completely understand how they could do that.

“Guess they're just good people." He slid open the door and stepped inside Shigure and the other's house. "Why did I come in through the back?" He asked himself.

It was still an hour or two away from when Tohru and Yuki would be returning from school, but he wondered if Shigure had returned with Kyo by now.

He didn't. Still, Hajime was left alone for a while longer.

_"Might as well start cleaning again."_

________________

  
  


"Need some help?" Hajime asked, walking into the kitchen where Tohru was preparing dinner for everyone. Yuki went outside, probably to go on a walk. It was almost 4 and the other two still hadn't returned. Whatever they were doing, Hajime assumed it must've been important to be this time consuming.

"That's okay!" She replied, checking on the rice to see if it was done. It was. "Everything's mostly done now."

He didn't think he'd been upstairs for that long, but if Tohru had enough time to finish such a delicious looking meal, then he was mistaken. When he had gone up there was a tarp covering the hole in the ceiling, so Kyo must have fixed it while he was still there.

He also ended up spacing out a bit, so that could've also played a part in his extended amount of time upstairs. He couldn't stop thinking about the whole thing.

The two set the table together as Yuki walked inside. He admired the hard work clearly put in by the two to clean up and actually make something in what was such a disgusting kitchen.

"I can't believe you guys managed to clean it up so quickly. . ."

"Me neither."

Tohru smiled and offered Yuki some food. It looked so good, he couldn't refuse the offer. He'd be insane if he did.

The three of them sat at the table and ate quietly, with the exception of giving Tohru a compliment for her amazing cooking skills. Then Yuki looked at the time and hummed.

"I wonder when Shigure will get back. He should've been done by now." He brought a cup of tea to his lips and took a small sip. "He should be ashamed for missing out on such a good meal."

Tohru giggles, blushing slightly. "You went out too right? Earlier I mean?"

"Yeah. To my secret base, actually."

"WOW! That sounds so cool!" Tohru exclaimed, eyes sparkling. She then went on rambling about when she was younger and some kids from her neighborhood wouldn't let her into their secret base. Hajime couldn't understand the appeal back then, but now it seemed like a fun idea.

"I'm not sure it's like what you're thinking, but if you want, I could show it to you sometime." He offered. Tohru cheered and thanked him excitedly. "And you're welcome to come along too."

Hajime snapped out of what felt like a trance. He was unprepared for anyone to include him in the conversation, or the plans the two were making. He was used to just being a sort of bystander, and he didn't mind it that way.

"Uh, okay. . . Thanks." He kept his eyes down, gaze focused more on his cup of steaming hot tea.

Tohru started rambling again, and Hajime noticed Yuki watching her with a fond expression. Then out of nowhere the door was slammed open, revealing Shigure and a very angry Kyo standing on the other side.

"Welcome back! Dinner's ready!"

"Ah, it's good to see you again Tohru! It feels like it's been ages!" The man responded before going to chase Kyo, who was ranting about something, around the table.

"Is this what makes you happy? Manipulating innocent people like me?!"

"Sure, I'm enjoying this thoroughly, but calm down!"

"NO!"

"Would you like something to eat, maybe?" Tohru interrupted their argument, still surprised by their sudden arrival.

"HELL NO!" Kyo shouted back at her before stomping up the stairs.

  
  


"Take off your shoes!" He called after him, giving up and removing his own before taking a seat with the others.

"Says the man who just did laps around the room in his." Yuki rolled his eyes.

"How nice! Is that food for us?" He asked, ignoring Yuki's comment and making Hajime wonder if he was even listening to her before.

"Yes, but. . ." She started, looking in the direction Kyo went. "Why is he so upset?"

"Oh, that? He's just mad because I made him take an entrance exam. Starting tomorrow, our very own Kyo will be attending the same school as the two of you!" He announced, picking up a bowl. "Thanks for the food!-"

"Don't you dare take another bite." Yuki stood and spoke with more venom than Hajime or Tohru have ever heard. "Shut up and get out."

"I had a feeling you'd be angry about this. . ." The other said, seemingly not affected at all by the other's tone. Then he rested his head in has hand and looked thoughtful. "But this'll be good for him."

  
  


Later that night the house was quiet. Hajime could tell what Shigure had said stuck with her. It was like all she could think about was whatever Kyo's reason for running off into the mountains could've been. And it clearly bothered her that the cat she loved so much from the zodiac story she grew up with, already hated her.

Hajime never liked to think of himself as someone who cared about what others thought of him, but he knew he did when it came to the people in this house. While they ate dinner Shigure had given them the news that the family head, Akito Sohma, would allow them to stay and keep all of their memories. Tohru was thankful to them all, but Hajime had some concerns.

"Why would Akito allow that? He never has before. . ."

"huh?" Tohru looked over, being caught off guard.

"- Oh. . . Nothing." He turned over on his side and mentally scolded himself for saying something like that in this house, and around Tohru. He let his eyes fall shut and let out a quiet yawn.

"Goodnight."


End file.
